Preston Barta // Editor
BOYHOOD, 163 min.
Director: Richard Linklater
Stars: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Lorelei Linklater, Marco Perella, Zoe Graham and Brad Hawkins
People go to the movies for numerous reasons: to laugh, to be frightened or simply to get respite from their lives to enjoy the show. That enjoyment can run the gamut from the mere short-term entertainment of the sequel-of-the-week to intense and thought-provoking films that stay with viewers for days on end. For most festivalgoers in the Paramount Theater at South by Southwest’s regional premiere of BOYHOOD, the experience was nothing short of complete involvement and immersion in a lovingly detailed and authentic narrative.
BOYHOOD is essential viewing for anyone believing that cinema is great art. How foreign and beautiful it is to see a motion picture about a Texas child’s experience from 5 to 18 years old. Rather than making BOYHOOD a yearlong production and casting new actors to play the characters as they grow up, writer-director Richard Linklater shot the film annually across 12 years using the same actors. The technological achievement of maintaining continuity while filming over such an extended period is a noteworthy tribute to Linklater’s ability. It is a feat of directorial patience and innovation rarely seen in the movie industry.
Linklater, who grew up in Texas, has a truly impressive filmography. He has directed quiet, stunning films such as DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993), which chronicled the ‘70s teenage youth; the BEFORE trilogy, which showed how the passage of time affects and changes people in the most profound ways; and BERNIE (2011), a comedy-drama that traces a small-town Texas mortician as he goes to great lengths to produce the fantasy that the town’s grande dame is still alive after he kills her.
Linklater is not a household name like Quentin Tarantino, a highly outspoken director who is prompt to self-promote. Linklater plays it cool and quiet instead. He deserves to be credited as one of the best auteurs in film history.
Now, just when you thought Linklater’s work could not get more surprising, he outdoes himself again with his latest, BOYHOOD. This may very well be his masterwork, showing the maturation of Mason (Ellar Coltrane), a sensitive and inventive boy who is equally brought up by his single mother (Patricia Arquette) and loving but irresponsible part-time father (Ethan Hawke).
While the film’s narrative is light, Linklater holds our attention with his relevant views of growing up that are effortlessly weaved together into a long story in which time moves on naturally. The boy, Mason, grows older without breaks— moving from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood. The adults develop, mature and occasionally regress right along with him.
Because this film is more about character than narrative, so much rides on the performances. Thankfully, everybody goes above and beyond his or her given roles, especially Coltrane, who is the son of Robbie Coltrane (DAZED AND CONFUSED). He starts as a passive, observing kid, but as he matures – along with his older sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) – his role in the story grows accordingly. We witness him fall in love and go through a circle of friends as he moves from place to place. However, Mason isn’t the only one who undergoes changes.
Mason’s parents both go through their own patterns of growth and development in their spirits. His mother, Olivia, played spectacularly by Arquette (TRUE ROMANCE, 1993), remarries two times and goes back to school. Mason’s father, Mason Sr., portrayed by Hawke (BEFORE MIDNIGHT, 2013) in one of his best performances yet, drops his juvenile tendencies and steps up to the plate as a father.
Linklater, instead of relying on title cards, uses music and period-specific songs to show the passage of time. Audiences will recognize songs such as Coldplay’s “Yellow” at the film’s beginning and Family of the Year’s recent hit “Hero” near the end.
While it may not be intentional, BOYHOOD gives audiences a look inside of today’s post-9/11 youth. The tragedy of that morning forever changed how we talk about politics and world affairs. The fact that this film takes place in Texas also doesn’t go unnoticed. Students who grew up Texas might remember a time in grade school when they had to say the “Pledge of Allegiance” to both the United States and Texas flag. Linklater wanted BOYHOOD to be a film that everyone could identify with, but it’s hard to ignore some of its Texas ties, such as the scenes involving guns and political ideology.
Though it clocks in at 163 minutes, BOYHOOD never feels tedious. It’s one of those rare features that you could easily imagine watching for hours on end. Despite the lack of a clear three-act structure or clean resolution and denouement by the time the events come together, the audience won’t feel cheated by the beautiful journey.
BOYHOOD is a matchless and complex vision that will go down in motion picture history as a film of gesture and movement, insecurity and happiness, awe and love. It’s a movie phenomenon that serves as the indisputable front-runner for film of the decade.
BOYHOOD opens in theaters on July 18.
Our Q&A with star Brad Hawkins
Red Carpet Interview with Writer-Director Richard Linklater
